Drawing King+Rook vs. King+Rook endgames in Bullet and Blitz

I previously posted about a way to rapidly draw a bullet or blitz endgame with no pieces other than king+bishop against king+knight and it was suggested to discuss another scenario where there is only a king and rook against another king and rook.

As before this is sort of a silly commentary on the state of online blitz chess because it's not real, after all this wouldn't occur in an over the board game in modern tournaments where there is always a delay or increment per move. In the old days, when there were analog clocks, it was occasionally possible to flag opponents in dubious positions, but ever since the advent of digital clocks, it was possible for players to ask the tournament director for a draw by claiming "insufficient losing chances." If the tournament director agreed, the player would be allowed a digital clock with a delay to finish the game. One imagines that such requests would usually be granted if the only pieces were a king and rook on each side.

In blitz and bullet however, there is no such thing as "insufficient losing chances" and therefore it is possible to lose completely drawn games by running out of time, even when victory is improbable for either side, such as the case of king+bishop against king+knight.> > > > The king+rook against king+rook scenario is different however, because victory is possible if one player blunders the rook and time scramble blunders are not improbable in this scenario. Indeed, KR vs. KR scrambles are one of the most common and frustrating endgame scenarios seen in blitz and bullet.

First, the hard truth: There is no simple way to draw KR vs. KR by pre-moving. If you are substantially down on time compared to your opponent and there is no delay or increment, you are likely lost. There is always a risk of the king and rook getting too close to the other king and being skewered by a check from the other rook, and there are also bullet tricks, in which one rook is able to capture the other rook because of a bad pre-move.

The safest way to draw this ending is just to keep the king in the middle and rook at a distance from your own king while not being pushed back. This works fine in an increment situation. Nevertheless, if you fear open play or don't have an increment, there is still at least one way to make this endgame annoying for a determined opponent up on time. The same method can also achieve a rapid draw as long as there is any delay or increment.

Not dissimilar to the case with KB against KKN, the method starts by putting the king in a corner. In the most ideal scenario, the other king follows along.

In this position, black's king is trapped on the A-file. White need only move his rook up and down between b1 and b2. If black checks on the 1st rank, the rook interposes. If black plays the rook to the second rank, white plays Rb2 anyway, since Rxb2 is stalemate. Thus, white can move his rook back and forth with impunity as long as the black rook moves around elsewhere

There are two ways for black to cause trouble. The first is a risky bullet trick: black moves the rook to or along the second rank after white plays Rb2, risking capture and a loss. If white now pre-moves back to b1, Ra2 mates. However, if white is quick enough, capture of the rook either wins or draws on time.

The other way is for black to move his king back and use the rook to check on the A-file. White draws by interposing the rook on the A-file, pinning the rook to the king. To accomplish this, white must avoid releasing the black king from the A-file. He can do this by oscillating his king back and forth between a2 and a1. If black threatens to check on the a-file while the rook and king are adjacent to each other, the king and rook stagger themselves on a diagonal one square away. If the check is threatened when the rook and king are already staggered, the king retreats behind the rook.

This covers draws where the black king gets stuck. But what if black is not so foolish to get his king stuck on the a-file?

In this position, you can still draw by a simple formula using the king on a1 and rook on b2. As before, capture of the rook on b2 is stalemate. There are four key principles:> > > > White always attempts to stagger the king and rook on a1 and b2 respectively, interposing with his/her own rook wherever the black rook checks and then moving back to b2.

• If black tries to gain a tempo when the rook and king are staggered, the king moves to a2 or b1, returning immediately to a1 if the black rook tries to gain a second tempo.
• White always blocks black's rook with his own on the a-file or 1st rank. If the black rook subsequently moves to the b-file or second rank, the white king retreats to a1. If the black rook moves elsewhere, the white rook returns to b2
• White blocks black's rook with his own on the b-file or second rank if and only if his king is already on a1 (stalemate).

These principles work regardless of where the black king is; if the black king is elsewhere or starts moving away, white just oscillates the king around the rook on b2.

Ultimately, the KR vs. KR ending is not a trivial draw where you can pre-move, but there is a basic mathematical formula that can help you move quickly and try to make a draw in the corner or force black to attempt a risky bullet trick, potentially losing his own rook in the hope that white will make the wrong pre-move. If you have an increment or delay and fear the risks of open play, or you have at least enough time to make a lot of moves, this methods gives chances to force a 3-move repetition or otherwise draw with a basic formula.